The officials say the fighting that broke out in the town of Lawder early Monday spilled over into yesterday, with the army shelling militant hideouts in an effort to prevent them from sending reinforcements. The officials say 56 militants, four soldiers and three tribal fighters were killed overnight and early yesterday.

They say militants also attacked an army post yesterday along the border of Shabwa and Marib provinces, killing 11 people.

“Al-Qaeda militants attacked a military position on the road between Hadramawt and Marib province (in the east),” the official said, adding, "Eleven soldiers were killed" in the assault. He said at least eight other soldiers were wounded.

Al-Qaeda gunmen attacked the soldiers just after dawn with "automatic weapons," the official added.

A local official in the Abyan province town of Lawder said yesterday that Al-Qaeda militants have surrounded the area in preparation for the complete takeover of the town.

"Al Qaeda has distributed statements throughout the town saying that it is determined to take control of Lawder," said the official.

The city of Lawder is located some 150 km northeast of Zinjibar, the Abyan provincial capital which the Al-Qaeda linked Partisans of Shariah militants overran in May last year.

Al-Qaeda briefly overran Loder in August 2010 before being driven out by the army. The United States considers the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, the most deadly and active branch of the global terror network.